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By" 

Frederic 

E. 

Move 



WHIST THINGS 

OLD AND NEW 



BY 

FREDERIC E. MOVER 



PHILADELPHIA: 

THE APPLEBAUGH-JONES CO 
1903 






THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 


Two Copies Received 


MAY 18 1903 


Copyright Entry 


CUSS OU XXc. No 


COPY B. } 



Copyright, IQ03, 
by Frederic E. Moye 



It is not expected that the 
system presented will be 
either adopted or approved, 
but it is hoped that de- 
ductions can be made that 
will add to the science of 
the game. 



TABLE OF LEADS 



Cards 

at Head of 

Suit 


Number of Cards in Suit 


4 


5 


6 

OR MORE 


AKQJ 


K J 


Q A 


Q K 


A K Q 


KQ 


Q A 


Q K 


A K 


K A 


A K 


A K 


A Q J 


A Q 


A J 


A J 


A Q 


4th 


4th 


A 4th 


A 


4th 


A 4th 


A 4th 


K Q 


K 4th 


Q 4th 


Q 4th 


Q J T 


T Q 


T J 


T J 



From all other combinations lead fourth best. 



*5T 



GENERAL RULES 
LEADS 



J* 



WHIST THINGS 

Ace shows a suit of five or more, unless 
followed by the Queen, then only four and 
ACE tne presence of the Jack ; when followed by 
King no Queen can be in leader's hand ; 
when followed by Jack, shows a suit of five 
or more, and the presence of the Queen. 
When followed by any card lower than the 
Jack, shows at least a five-card suit, unless 
the fall of the cards indicates that the 
second lead is not a fourth best; it then 
shows a suit of only two, known as the 
"Fisher Ames Lead," and informs partner 
that the leader is ready to trump the suit and 
is willing to be forced. 

Ace to Ten and Ace to Deuce are always 
"Fisher Ames Leads." 

King shows a suit of four, the presence 
of the Ace or Queen, or both. Winning a 
KING trick should be followed by lowest card of 
the suit for partner's Ace. When followed 
by Queen, marks Ace and one more in 
leader's hand; King then Ten, Queen and 
Jack are left in leader's hand. 



D 



N 



N 



W 



There is but one Queen lead, which 
shows a suit of five or more, the presence of 
the King with or without the Ace. When 
led without the Ace and winning trick, 
should be followed with fourth best for part- 
ner's Ace. 



QUEEN 



Jack is always an irregular card. 



JACK 



Ten is led from bottom of sequence of 
Ten, Jack, Queen ; followed by Queen shows 
a suit of four ; followed by Jack shows a suit TEN 
of five or more. 



Nine, when not led irregularly, is always 
a fourth best card. Combinations from 
which the Nine is led are as follows : 

Ace, Queen, Ten, Nine. 

Ace, Jack, Ten, Nine. 

King, Jack, Ten, Nine. 

The two former show a suit of exactly 
four ; the latter, four or more. These suits 



NINE 



W H I S 



H I N 



should be opened seldom, for the reason that 
they are more valuable to be led up to than 
to be led from. When holding a Major Ten- 
nace suit (other suits being weak), and four 
trumps, open the hand with an irregular lead. 



OTHER All other suits should be opened fourth 

SUITS best. 



Irregular 
Leads 



Irregular leads, sometimes termed "top 
of nothing" or "supporting card" leads, are 
made from hands weak in plain suits and in- 
ferentially show strength in trumps 
(strength is four or more; it is the writer's 
opinion trumps should always be led from 
six). These leads should usually be made 
with the highest card of the shortest plain 
suit, generally an Eight, Nine, Ten or Jack, 
sometimes Queen, if only two of the latter 
suit are held. If you win the trick with an 
irregular lead it is usually safe to place 
strength of the suit in partner's hand, and if 
vou have another card of the suit with which 



OLD AND N E W 

to put partner in and sufficient strength to 
draw all the trumps, it should be done in 
order to bring in the suit, which being your 
short one is likely to be partner's long suit. 
If adversaries take the trick and you win 
adversaries' lead, and partner has not called 
for trumps, you should continue the short 
suit first opened. While you started to play 
a long suit game by informing partner of 
strength in trumps, you are paving the way 
to trump a plain suit, and should a short suit 
develop in partner's hand, you make trumps 
separately — a good way to make a high score 
when neither you nor partner has a long suit 
to bring in. For leads to be regular : 

Seven means the Eight, Nine or Ten in 
leader's hand ; 

Eight means the Nine or Ten in leader's 
hand; 

Nine means the Ten in leader's hand ; 

Ten means the Jack and Queen in lead- 
er's hand ; 

Jack is always irregular; 

Queen means the King in leader's hand. 



W H I S 



THINGS 



Forced leads are made late in the hand. 
From three-card suits, headed by A_ce, King 
or Queen, lead low ; headed by Jack, Ten or 
Nine, lead high. When holding Queen, Jack 
and one small, lead Oueen. 



Irregular 

Leads that 

Do Not Show 

Strength in 

Trumps 



A and B are partners. A opens with an 
irregular card showing strength in trumps, 
B recognizes it, but his hand is weak both in 
plain suits and trumps, and an effort to draw 
them to bring in plain suits is useless ; he is 
therefore justified in endeavoring to estab- 
lish a cross-ruff by leading his shortest suit 
when in, provided he is sure that A knows 
his (A's) opening card was recognized, be- 
cause if B did not recognize it and leads an 
irregular card, A would be justified in hav- 
ing at least two rounds of trumps. There 
can be no misunderstanding if it is mutually 
agreed upon to lead trumps when both hands 
are strong in them ; nor can there be a mis- 
understanding as to B's irregular card 

When A opens with a Jack ; 



OLD AND NEW 

When A opens with a Nine, and the Ten 
falls ; 

When A opens with a Ten, and the Jack 
or Queen falls ; 

When A opens with a Queen, and the 
King falls. 

When you hold a long plain suit without 
command or cards of re-entry in other suits, 
and four trumps, open the long suit irregu- Irregular 
larly, but with a card that will give a fair Opening of 
chance of it being recognized by partner as s °" t 8 
irregular and at the same time bring out 
high cards. The lead not only conveys in- 
formation of trump strength to partner, but 
will do much toward establishing the suit. 
If partner is strong in trumps, the chances 
are very good for you to make small cards in 
the plain suit. This often applies when hold- 
ing five small trumps as well as four, for if 
you open trumps and find partner weak in 
them, and are then forced, there is not much 
chance of making any of your plain suit. 
On the other hand, if partner is strong in 



WHIST 



THINGS 



trumps, two or three rounds may exhaust 
the adversaries ; if you are then in and your 
suit was not cleared on the first round, the 
second should ordinarily do so, and the rest 
of the plain suit will be made. The writer 
believes that you are taking less chances by 
the irregular opening, particularly so when 
you have no cards of re-entry, and not suffi- 
cient trump strength to draw them all and 
still hold one or more long trumps. 

The thirteenth card of a suit should 
never be led if holding four trumps, but it is 
good play if fourth hand has shown strength 
in trumps; there are then two things for 
third hand to consider, either a high trump 
or none should be played. The thirteener 
may be played at other times to throw the 
lead. 



Four Trumps ^ ne consensus of opinion favors the lead 

and Three f the lowest trump when holding four, and 

Each Plain three cards of each plain suit. After the 

Suit first or second round the chances are that 



OLD AND N E W 

you will know whether it is wise to continue : 
if the strength is against you, either you or 
your partner may be able to force the strong 
hand ; after the strong hand has been forced, 
the situation may warrant you to continue 
the trump lead; it is especially good play, 
either winning or losing the trick, if a trump 
is sure to be drawn from both adversaries, 
leaving you with the long trump. 

Trumps should always be opened fourth 
best, except when holding three honors or 
more than six (honors are A., K., Q., J.), or 
King, Queen, Ten and others, then lead as in 
plain suits. The fourth best lead does not 
apply when trying to stop a cross-ruff ; then 
Ace should always be led if in the hand ; if 
not, it is then good play to lead low from 
three in order to be in command on the third 
round. If partner leads trumps to stop a 
cross-ruff, and you hold Ace, Queen, you 
should not finesse, but play Ace, thereby 
making sure of two rounds of trumps imme- 
diately. 



WHIST THINGS 

Trump call is made by the play of an 
unnecessarily high card followed by a lower 
TRUMP one > or the discard of a card higher than a 
CALL Seven of a suit that has not been shown. 

A call is sometimes made in this manner : 
Suppose Ace is led, second hand plays Nine, 
the suit is continued, second hand plays 
King, fourth hand discards, second hand is 
now in the lead and plays Deuce of the same 
suit; the call is completed and gives an op- 
portunity for making a small trump before 
they are opened. The same play may be 
made by reversing second and fourth hands. 

A call may also be made as follows : A 
and B are partners ; B is fourth hand and 
wins trick with Jack, and returns Ten of the 
same suit through the opening hand. B 
either wants a supporting card in trumps led 
or desires to finesse to partner's lead. 

To refuse to trump a trick positively 
against you, is the loudest call for trumps 
that can be made. 

In case an honor trump is turned, irregu- 
lar leads are made by some players as a call 



N D 



N 



W 



for trumps through the honor. This system, 
however, has been abandoned by a large 
number of players. 

If holding more than three, lead fourth 
best, the highest of three, the higher or two, 
or a singleton, except when holding Ace ^Uad. 
always lead it, then the higher of two re- toCaii 
maining, or fourth best if holding four or 
more. 



Some players echo to show four, some 
three or more, i. e., the play of an unneces- 
sarily high card followed by a lower one. 
The writer believes that the echo to show ex- 
actly three trumps is the better whist. If 
partner leads high trumps, you hold Ten, 
Six, Deuce, play Six then Deuce ; if low card 
is led, holding Ace, King, one small, play 
Ace, then King; holding Ace, King, two 
small, play King, then Ace ; in short, holding 
two or four, play them up, holding three 
play them down. 

The opportunity for the three trump echo 



TRUMP 
ECHO 



WHIST THINGS 

not only presents itself oftener than for 
four, but personal experience and the opin- 
ions of advanced players prove it to be de- 
cidedly advantageous. If partner knows 
that you echo to show exactly three and no 
more, the sting of false carding is reduced 
to a minimum. If with four trumps on part- 
ner's leads of high cards you play them up, 
the times when he will not be able to tell by 
inference whether you have two or four will 
be rare. 



To refuse to trump a doubtful trick, 

shows four trumps or two honors among 

"-Trump*" three. There is, however, an exception to 

Doubtful this r u\e, that is, when the fall of the cards 

indicates that partner has the winning card 

or none. 



If partner leads trumps and adversaries 
trick, an 
four trumps. 



Echo in w j n trick an echo on adversaries' suit show 

Plain Suit 



N D 



N 



W 



The play of intermediate, high, low, i. e., 
6, 8, 4, at any time in a plain suit shows four 
trumps. 

When playing fourth hand, holding four 
trumps ; and you begin to play intermediate, 
high, low, and partner completes a call on 
second round, instead of playing the high 
card on this round, play low ; in other words, 
in response to partner's call you echo imme- 
diately, showing four trumps. 



To show number of trumps when trump- 
ing plain suits, the following should be ob- 
served : 

Holding four, first trump with third best, 
then fourth. 

Holding five, first trump with fourth, 
then third, then fifth. (Some players prefer 
to trump first with third, then fourth, claim- 
ing that to show four trumps in two rounds 
is more valuable than to wait three rounds 
to give the information showing five.) 

Holding six, first trump with fourth, then 
fifth, then sixth. 



Showing 
Number of 
Trumps 
When 
Trumping 
Plain Suits 



W H I S 



THINGS 



If a player trumps the initial lead, then 
opens a four-card suit, he originally held five 
trumps. 

To lead the losing trump when eleven 
Losing have been played, you must be sure that 
Trump either you or your partner can get in, what- 
ever is led. 



Show Your 

Suit, Keep 

Partner in 

Lead When 

Trumps Have 

Been Called 

or Led 



If partner leads low trump and you win 
the trick, if holding commanding cards, 
show your suit before returning trump. If 
you hold a singleton trump, show your suit, 
then lead low card, endeavoring to put part- 
ner in, that he may continue to draw the 
trumps. 



Great Suit- 
Card of Re- 
Entry 



If you hold a great suit and fear it will 
be trumped on the second round, it is some- 
times good play for your second lead to be 
from another suit in which you have a card 
of re-entry. By so doing you practically say 
to partner : "I have shown you my best suit 
and one in which I have a re-entrv, now, 



AND 



N 



W 



then, if you have trump strength, go ahead 
and draw them." 



If partner shows a great suit, and you 
hold strength in trumps, it is your duty to 
call for them ; but before he leads them he 
should, if possible, show a card of re-entry, 
i. e., if he holds Ace, King of another suit, 
he should lead King, then respond to trump 
call. 



Partner's 
Great Suit 



When after two leads of trumps you find 
all the strength massed in one hand, it is Force Strong 
then best to force, try to compel the strong Trump Hand 
hand to lead up to you. 

Subtract the face value of the fourth best 
card from the number eleven and the re- 
mainder will correspond to the number of ^ u j e f 
cards higher than that fourth best card Eleven 
against you. Example : If an Eight is led 
from Ace, Jack, Nine, Eight, eight from 
eleven leaving three, if King, Queen, Ten 
are held in one hand, the Ten if played will 
win the trick. 



WHIST THINGS 

"Second hand low" is an old-time ex- 
pression, but does not apply to any card that 
Second may be led. King or Queen led, cover with 
Hand Ace ; holding King and one small, to Queen 
led, play King, because if the Ace is third 
hand it will be finessed and lose in any 
event ; if Ace is in partner's hand, the King 
makes and the suit may be cleared for him. 

Jack led, never cover unless you hold two 
honors of equal value above it. Any small 
card led, if holding two high cards in 
sequence and one small, cover; but if hold- 
ing two high cards and more than one small, 
play low; the suit may be cleared and you 
may bring it in instead of the hand that 
opened it. 

Holding a Fourchette, the cards imme- 
diately higher and lower than the one led, 
cover ; the Nine, Jack is the Fourchette over 
the Ten. 

A good rule to follow in any position : If 
weak in trumps, play a forward game; if 
strong in trumps play a backward game. 
(Strength is four or more.) The Rule of 



OLD AND NEW 

Eleven should always be kept in mind in any 
position. 

Third hand will always play highest card 
to low card led, except when holding Ace, 
Queen (Major Tennace) and one or two Third 
small, when you are privileged to finesse ; if Hand 
Queen wins, the Ace or trumps should be 
returned immediately. If holding Ace and 
Queen only, play Ace, and return Queen. 

To partner's lead of Ace, Jack, holding 
King and two small, play King on Jack, even 
though it be trumped. The short suit should 
always unblock to partner's long one, and 
when discarding get rid of command of 
partner's suit, retaining command of adver- 
saries' suits. 

It is sometimes good play to finesse part- 
ner's fourth best lead if you hold all the 
cards better than the card led against his 
hand, provided you can do so without block- 
ing the suit. After he knows where the 
strength of the suit lies, his hand may jus- 
tify an attempt to draw the trumps. 



W H I S 



H I N G S 



Fourth hand, of course, always tries to 
win the trick (unless making an underplay). 
Fourth If trick ls won with an intermediate card 
Hand and you hold Ace, it is usually bad play to 
lead it ; by so doing you give up command of 
adversaries' suit. It often occurs that fourth 
hand wins a trick and then leads a card of 
the same suit up to weakness, or for the pur- 
pose of giving partner an opportunity to 
finesse if the best card is in that hand, but if 
the original player plays his best card the 
suit may be cleared for you, and the next 
time you or your partner are in, a lead of 
trumps may be justifiable. The fall of the 
cards might indicate, however, that the 
original fourth hand has no more of the suit, 
and by the play would invite a force. 



Always lead through strength, never up 
to it, unless for the purpose of throwing the 
lead. If an irregular opening is made on 
your left and it is finessed on your right, the 
strength is usually found in the latter hand, 
rather than in partner's. 



A N 



N 



W 



If it is necessary to open a Major Ten- 
nace Suit, with four, or five, open low. It °P enin g 

Major 

is especially good play to open low with five Tennace Suit 
when strong in trumps. 



When adversaries are leading trumps, it 
often becomes necessary to discard your own 
suit, in order to guard cards that may block 
their plain suits. 

If partner leads trumps and it is appar- 
ent that he is doing so for the purpose of 
bringing in your long suit, be wary of dis- 
carding from it. 

Should the play of the hand devolp that 
trumps have all been drawn except that part- 
ner holds two, three, or four, it is usually 
good play to make all Aces and Kings or 
other winning cards in your hand when you 
are in, regardless of prescribed leads. 



Discarding 
Strong Suit 



Don't Carry 
Home Aces 
and Kings 



Always force a leading or calling adver- 
sary ; do not change suits, for in nine cases 
out of ten you will force the strong trump 
hand. 



Forcing 



W H I S 



THIN 



The writer believes in the long suit game, 

and advises that a singleton be not led 

Singleton unless you hold at least five small trumps, 

and then only provided the hand is weak in 

plain suits. 



Inviting 
Force 



Opportunities for the following plays do 
not occur frequently, but are valuable at 
times to players of good judgment: 

When void of a suit and trick is part- 
ner's, the discard of a 2, 3 or 4, indicates a 
willingness to be forced ; the discard of a 5, 
6, or 7, indicates the contrary. 



Long 
Trump 



Being left with the long trump and suit 
headed by Ace, King, lead low ; when hold- 
ing more than one, an extra lead of trumps is 
sometimes good play, the lead having made 
it impossible for adversaries to guard block- 
ing cards. 



It is here that the odd tricks are frequently 

_ J . an gained or lost. The diversity of hand end- 
Endings . . . ., , ; . r iim 1 

mgs makes it impossible to give an infallible 



OLD AND NEW 

rule of play in any work, however large its 
scope. Memory at this stage of the game 
is the most essential requisite, and the best 
that can be done, is to play according to 
the story told by the cards already turned. 

Underplay is interesting when it works 
satisfactorily. Following are a few instances 
that occasionally occur : If you are second 
hand and hold Ace, Jack and one small, if 
strong in trumps, to King led play low ; the 
leader will follow the King with a low card, 
expecting partner to win with Ace ; you then 
play Jack. You now have won a trick in 
adversaries' suit and still hold command. 
The play can be made either second or 
fourth hand, and is especially advantageous 
if partner calls for trumps ; the call is com- 
pleted on the second round and you are in 
to respond. 

The same play applies to Queen led, but 
it is more dangerous, the leader's partner 
being more likely to be short of the suit, and 
second play may be trumped. 



WHIST THINGS 

When adversaries lead trumps from four 
and you hold four, it is sometimes good play 
to refuse to take the first and sometimes the 
second tricks, endeavoring to be in com- 
mand on the last round. This, of course, 
only applies when you or your partner have 
a plain suit that can be brought in. 

Before attempting any of these plays the 
fall of the cards and your hand should be 
well considered. Beginners are particularly 
liable to lose tricks by underplay. 

Considerable has been written discourag- 
ing the play of false cards, and may have 
FALSE been justifiable when writing of certain sys- 
CARDS terns of play that have been in vogue, but 
the game as now played, when every card is 
- freighted with a fund of information, it 
seems that when plays can be made that will 
conceal the information from the player for 
whom it was intended, the situation war- 
rants false cards, provided they will not 
mislead partner or otherwise harm his hand. 
When playing with adversaries who call 



OLD AND NEW 

for trumps to be led through an honor turned 
by the irregular lead of a Jack or Queen, 
and you are either second or fourth hand 
holding Ace, King, I believe you are justi- 
fied in covering with the Ace, thereby for 
the time being concealing the information 
for which the lead was intended. 

The same applies to irregular leads made 
to show strength in trumps. 

The play of false cards is not recom- 
mended to the novice, as it is difficult for 
an experienced player to play them and not 
lose tricks. 

Barring exceptions noted, correct play is 
very important, otherwise partner may lose 
confidence in you, and good hands may Correct 
turn out to be poor trick winners. Especial W*Y 
care should be given to opening leads. If 
you open a suit with Ace, from Ace, Jack, 
Ten, Five, Deuce, be sure you follow the 
Ace with the Five (fourth best) ; the Deuce 
on the second lead would show only two 
cards (Fisher Ames Lead) in that suit. 

27 



WHIST THINGS 

There can be no doubt that the simplest 

and most practicable discard for beginners 

Discard is from weakest suits, that partner may 

judge from inference as to the strongest suit 

held. 

The following discard, which embodies 
the Rotary System, may at first glance seem 
complicated, but the writer believes if prac- 
tised will be found comparatively easy and 
decidedly effective : 

If partner leads trumps from strength, 
your first discard shall be by the Rotary Sys- 
tem ; if partner leads trumps from weakness 
and you continue to draw them for him, his 
first discard shall also be by the Rotary Sys- 
tem. 

If adversaries lead trumps from strength, 
your first discard shall be made from 
strongest suit ; if, however, your hand is 
such that to discard from strongest suit 
would be inadvisable, then a reverse discard 
shall be used, viz. : If Spades are trumps, 
and Diamonds have been shown, a reverse 
discard in clubs shows strength in Hearts. 



OLD AND NEW 

When using this system you should not 
jump at the conclusion that partner's first 
discard is his strongest suit, especially if it 
is an intermediate card; it may be the be- 
ginning of a reverse discard. 

To discard the best of a suit always 
shows you have command of that suit. 

Explanation of the Rotary Discard. Ar- 
ranging the suits alphabetically, they stand : 

Clubs — Diamonds — Hearts — Spades. 

The discard of a club shows strength in 
Diamonds. If Clubs are trumps the discard 
of a Spade also shows strength in Diamonds. 
The strong suit is the one next below the 
discard, always eliminating the trump. 

Before you begin play, in a match or 

duplicate game, look into the faces of your 

vv ELL. TO 
adversaries and try to judge of their possible KNOW 

astuteness. 

Intuition and judgment are always im- 
portant. Science adds zest to the game. 

If you have whist perception, practise 
will make you a good player. 



MAV 18 1903 



